A key hearing in the recall effort against embattled Thurston County Commissioner Emily Clouse is set for Friday, Jan. 10.
The hearing, which takes place at 10:30 a.m. in Thurston County Superior Court, will be presided over by visiting Judge Jennifer A. Forbes of Kitsap County.
The hearing will address a petition filed with the court to determine the sufficiency of the recall charges and for approval of a ballot synopsis.
“It’s a review of a ballot synopsis for sufficiency,” said Thurston County resident Arthur West, who is spearheading the recall effort, on Thursday, Jan. 9.
The ballot synopsis, which details a number of steps taken in the ongoing recall process, was drafted by the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney, as per state statute, and filed with the court on Dec. 26, 2024.
The synopsis, in some form, would eventually appear on the ballot should the matter qualify for the ballot.
The hearing comes on the heels of a number of developments in the recall effort, which West launched on Dec. 12, 2024, when he filed a recall petition with the county.
The Thurston County Auditor’s Office received the recall petition, and was then required to serve a copy of the petition to Clouse and to certify and transmit the recall charges to the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney in order to prepare the ballot synopsis.
By statute, the prosecuting attorney “shall additionally certify and transmit the charges and the ballot synopsis to the superior court of the county in which the officer subject to recall resides and shall petition the superior court to approve the synopsis and to determine the sufficiency of the charges,” the petition states.
The charges were sparked by a heavily redacted Nov. 26, 2024, report and an executive report with respect to an independent investigation by Robin L. Nielsen, a Seattle workplace investigator hired by the county to look into Clouse’s conduct with respect to her former aide.
The aide sued the county, alleging sexual harassment and other actions against him by Clouse, and then later agreed to a settlement.
West also filed a related petition on Tuesday, Jan. 7, in which he is seeking unredacted copies of the Nov. 26 report and executive summary or have both produced for in camera (in private) review.
The petition also revealed the settlement amount was $300,000. An earlier effort by The JOLT to contact Clouse was not successful.
8 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
jimlazar
This hearing is for the sole purpose of determining IF the charges filed are "sufficient" grounds for a recall.
It does NOT determine if the charges are true. It only determines the question of IF THEY ARE TRUE, do they constitute grounds for recall.
The majority of recall petitions are rejected by the courts. And when that happens, that's the end of it.
If the court does determine that the charges are grounds for recall, THEN the signature gathering begins. It's very difficult to gather enough signatures to recall a County Commissioner. Those seeking a recall must collect 25% of the number of voters who voted in the election they are seeking to overturn. In this case, that's 73,996 votes cast, so 18,500 valid signatures must be gathered. That is very difficult.
Only then will the proposed recall go to the voters.
I am skeptical that this effort will jump through the required hoops.
And I think it's time for our County Commissioners to stop pestering Commissioner Clouse. They need to get to work patching potholes, repaving the Chehalis-Western Trail, providing public health services, and all of the other things we have elected them to do. I'm optimistic that with the departure of former Commissioner Edwards, and the beginning of a term for Rachel (Dreon) Grant that they will turn the page and resume doing the work we need them to do.
Thursday, January 9 Report this
JulesJames
Adding to Mr. Lazer's analysis: Elections Departments typically recommend far more than the required number of signatures to account for double signatures and non-registered individuals signing. So the real number needed is closer to 22,000. One person working a full day can be expected to collect 100 valid signatures. That said: Ms. Clouse, if not an elected official, would have been promptly fired for bedding a Thurston County employee under her direct supervision. She needs to resign, be recalled, or voted out of office. Every valid recall signature gathered is one more vote to send her packing.
Thursday, January 9 Report this
BevBassett
In my opinion, Commissioner Clouse should stop being harassed and be allowed to do the job that a majority of the voters elected her to do--which is to take care of County business and issues. She'll be up for re-election soon enough and voters can have their say about her again then.
In the meantime, I'd like to see the citizens of Thurston County censor and recall Arthur West. Mr West brags that he bought his house overlooking the bay with money he won in one of his myriad lawsuits against the Port of Olympia and others. Mentioning his name makes me feel a little worried that he might find some way to sue me because that's what he does and has done over and over again over the years. Arthur is always looking for a lawsuit or legal ways to stir up trouble. And here he goes again!
Can't Commissioner Clouse just be left alone and allowed to do her job for a change?!
Friday, January 10 Report this
bonaro
The Board should submit a finding of no confidence and demand that Clouse resign.
She does not have the experience, maturity or common sense to hold that office.
Her antics and indiscretion is costing the county taxpayers huge amounts of money.
Friday, January 10 Report this
BobB
There are a number of hurdles that must be overcome before a recall election comes to be. That does not mean that the effort is not warranted given the egregious conduct on the part of Clouse. The court will determine the threshold issues and, if lawful and sufficient signatures can be gathered, an election will take place. The court has the initial say and ultimately the voters may have the final say. The other county commissioners did not cause this to happen, It's entirely on Clouse and her conduct. I'm confident the BoCC can continue to function if a recall is authorized. Clouse will continue to serve unless and until she is recalled. The issue is Clouse and her conduct, not her fellow commissioners or the individual who filed the recall petition. The difficulty of a recall campaign shouldn't preclude the effort. Hopefully, it will be successful and the community can prevent Clouse from inflicting further damage on our county.
Friday, January 10 Report this
HappyOlympian
An elected official has to have truly suspect intelligence, ethical standards, and judgement to engage in relations with anyone they have power over in place of work. No excuse, and she should pay the 300k that the abused employee just received as a result of all this; insurance should be for accidents, not willful conduct that was lied about when the issue investigated.Note she also was not willing to comment on the issue to JOLT - an absurd violation of her obligations to be accountable and explain her actions to taxpayers.
Friday, January 10 Report this
Porter
What's the justification for spending $300,000 of my hard earned tax dollars to a person hired suspiciously by the same person who harassed them? I want my money back.
Friday, January 10 Report this
MrCommonSense
Are humility, integrity, compassion, facts and truth headed for extinction or are we simply considering them endangered species?
All residents of Thurston County should have access to the unredacted report. Each voter should be able to make their own judgements. Heck, we have a felon headed to the White House. It's a symptom of the political environment we're living through. As with all pendulums, though, things will swing back the other way, and voters will have their say based on performance (or lack thereof) soon enough.
Friday, January 10 Report this